Petefls



@uiten tant stwt @ffice MAGHINE FOB; SHEARING TWISTED STRANDSOF WOOL, 6to.

`EDWARD fr.` c. LUTTON, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNsYLvANiA, i Letters Patent No. 60,211, dated December 4, 1866.

SPECIVFIOATIQN. TO ALL WHOM IT M AY CONCERN:`

Be it known that I, Enwnnn T. C. LUTTON, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain mechanism for Shearing Twisted Strands of Wool andother fibrous material; and I do"hereby declare thefollcwing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, andto the letters of reference marked thereon. A V i My invention consists of knives operating substantially as described hereafter, in combination with certain devices for so guiding and turning twisted strands of fibrous material that the superfluous projecting iibres may beshorn oiiQ-an operation which, when" applied to coarse American yarn, renders the same equal, as regards smoothness and appearance, to the iinest German zephyrs, o o i In order to enable others to' make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe a mode of carrying it into e'ect, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,rin which o i Y j Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a machine for shearing twisted strands or threads of wooland other fibrous material. i

' Figure 2, a transverse section on the line 1-2, iig. 41.

Figure 3, a plan view; and Figure 4, an enlarged sectional view ofthe shearing knives. i Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views. To a suitable table or base, A, is secured a frame, B, from which projects a bracket, D, and in the latter turns a vertical tubular` spindle,fE, provided atnrthe top with a small pulley, F, `'and beneath the, bracket with a hub, Gr, from which project four or other desired number of blades, a. To the frame B issecixred a stationary A knife, d, in such a position thatjthe under surfaces of the blades a shall revolvein close vcontact with the upper i surface of the said knife OZ, without'bearing hard on the same. Both the revolvingland the stationary blades are bevelled, and thusreduced to a'sharp cutvting edge, as' illustrated in the enlargddviewfg. To the rear` of the frame B is-secured a plate, e, having` :tn-inclined slot for the ready introduction of the yarntor thread, at, which traverses in a direction parallel, or nearly so, with the edge of the stationary knife, d, and very slightly below the cutting edge ofthe same, as'seen in the enlarged view, iig. 4. The yarn passesupwards through the tubular spindle, E, .and through an eye, h, formed by a wire secured to thep-ulley F, a short distance from the centre' of thelsame, the yarn `passingfrom this eye to a suitable reel round whichit is wound; Prior toreaching the guiding-plate e, the yarnA passes from an adjacent reel or swift round a pin, `z', una cross-liar, H, secured t to the base A, and between thejrounded top of this'bar and the under side of aicup, I, which` isloaded with shot or other small :li'eavy\particles, and which 4has a spindlem, 4turning intheisaid cross-bar.

It is well known` that the, tine German yarn termed fzephyr basa peculiarsilkyfand smooth iini'sh, which renders it of much greater` value for knitting, embroidery, and manufacturing purposes,` than the yarn made. in lthis country. `This may be attributed, inagreat measure, to the quality of the wool used in Germany, the finest Saxony staples being employed` in the manufacture of Berlin zephy'r, which 'is also`preparediinsucl1a manner that the bres are laid evenly. i i 4 The woolintliis country being much inferior in Aquality to that of theGrermanfolfSp'anish4 wool, the yarn i spun fromit is much coarserg'owing, for the most part, to the innumerableA bres'which projectrfromthe twisted; z strands, and which do net appear so prominently inthe German yarn. g t i l* j I have found that by `cutting od' these fibres' close to the twistedportiofns Voiybody of comparatively coarse American yarn, the latter may be` tendered equal, as regards smoothness andrappearance, to thejnestBerlix-r zephyr., Thisshearing of the yarn is accomplished rapidly and eifectually by the above described mechanism, l t The tubular spindle E is caused to revolve very rapidly while the thread is drawn forward slowly in the `course described above. Owing to the position of the eye h, as regards the centre of.` thejtubiila-r spindle, a twist is imparted to the yarn between the eye andthe cross-ba1'-II. By this twist `three objects are attained: first, the yarn is turned round so that ev-ery part of Qit is subjected to the action of 'the knives; second, the twisting has tendency to condense and stiften the yarn as 'it passes within the range of the revolving blades, which remove the projecting fibres only, the twisted and stiiened portions remaining entire; third,tthe twisting has ai tendency to 'make the'superiiuous projecting Afibres more prominent, and consequently in the best Vcondition to bc l severed. It should be understood that the twist imparted to the yarn between the eyelz and cross-bar H, is but l* temporary, the strands being restored to their original condition on passing between the saidcye and the winding reel. It is important that a uniform tension should be imparted to the yarn as it passes in front of the knife vand this tension should be delicately adjusted to accord with yarn of different qualities or numbers. This ten,4

sion is imparted bythe cup I, the weight of which may be regulated by removing or addingr'to the contents.

It will be seenA on reference to iig. l, that the upper end of a pin, m', secured to the frame B,Iprojects into an 'annular recess in the under side of the hub of the knife. .The yarn does not actually bear against this pin, otherwise the latter would interfere with the temporary twisting of the yarn, the pin merely serving asa guard to prevent the body of 'the yarn from being caght'by the knives rand severed, which might take place where any irregularity occurs in the yarn. A number of'shearing knives with their adjuncts may be arranged on one machine, so that a number of threads may be operated on simultaneously. i

Although I have described certain mechanism for shearing yarn, itwillbe evident that these devices may be altered, modiied, and other devices substituted for thosedescribed, without departing from the main features of my invention for instance, asingle revolving'knife, or a vibrating knife, may be substituted for the rotating blades, or both-the upper and lower knives may be made to rotate or vibrate, or a spiral knife may bc used, in a manner somewhat similar to that employed in cloth-shearing machines.; in all cases, however, the turning of 'the yarn and the guiding oi' the same, are essential. I have hitherto alluded to woollen yarnas the material to be shorn, but it will be evident that other twisted brous strands, even cordage, may be shearedby mechanism equivalent to that described. l

.Without confining myself to the specific arrangement, construction, and operation of the devices herein described, I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- I Knives operating substantially as described, in combination with the devices herein sct forth, or their` equivalents, for so'guiding and turningtwisted strands of fibrous material, thatthe same may be shorn by the said knives. l

In testimony :whereof I have signedl my'name to this specilication in Jthe presence oi' two subscribing Witnesses. l v t A`EDWARD T. C. LUTTON. Witnesses: I Y

H. HowsoN, W. J. R. DELANY.

sogni 

